TERMS OF USE

 

The following describes the Terms of Use ("Terms of Use") applicable to your use of the www.visualthesaurus.com Web site ("Site"). By using the Site, you agree to be legally bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree with these Terms of Use, please do not use the Site.  Thinkmap, Inc. ("Thinkmap") reserves the right to change, modify, add, or remove portions of these Terms of Use at any time. Please check this page periodically for any modifications. Your use of this Site following the posting of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the changes. These Terms of Use were last updated March 19, 2008.

 

1.    Site Usage

1.1.  You may use the site for lawful, non-commercial purposes. You will not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit, any of the content, in whole or in part, found on the Site. You will download copyrighted content solely for your personal use, but will make no other use of the content without the express written permission of Thinkmap and the copyright owner. You will not make any changes to any content that you are permitted to download under this Agreement, and in particular you will not delete or alter any proprietary rights or attribution notices in any content. You agree that you do not acquire any ownership rights in any downloaded content.

1.2.  Here are Acceptable Means of Using Content: In the following cases, you can use content from the site without explicit permission:

Use

Online

Offline

Use of any of the tools from the Visual Thesaurus Everywhere page at https://vcfalibrary.visualthesaurus.com/webmasters

Tools can only be used for non-commercial purposes.

Not Applicable

Images of Word Maps from the Visual Thesaurus

Image, when clicked, must link back to https://www.visualthesaurus.com and must contain the following attribution:

"Image from the Visual Thesaurus, Copyright ©1998-2024 Thinkmap, Inc. All rights reserved." And such attribution, when clicked should also link back to the Site.

You can print images from the Visual Thesaurus so long as you don’t sell these images or republish them without our permission. In addition, you should not remove any copyright or other attribution notices. These images can be used in classrooms, for inspiration, or for decoration. If you are interested in licensing images from the Visual Thesaurus for use in other applications, please fill out this form.

 

Academic Use

You can use definitions, word map images from the Visual Thesaurus, and excerpts from the articles from the Visual Thesaurus magazine for personal use, in a classroom, or in scholarly works, so long as such usage would be considered "fair use" and the material is cited with the following attribution "Image or text from the Visual Thesaurus, Copyright ©1998-2024 Thinkmap, Inc. All rights reserved."

 

You can use definitions, word map images from the Visual Thesaurus, and excerpts from the articles from the Visual Thesaurus magazine for personal use, in a classroom, or in scholarly works, so long as such usage would be considered "fair use" and the material is cited with the following attribution "Image or text from the Visual Thesaurus (https://www.visualthesaurus.com), Copyright ©1998-2024 Thinkmap, Inc. All rights reserved."

 

Full text of articles from the Visual Thesaurus

As a subscriber, you can email full text of these articles using our email a friend functionality. Otherwise, to use an article on a web site, you must get permission. Please fill out this form to make a request.

You can print articles for personal use. Please fill out this form to request permission to use articles for any other application.

Abstracts from articles on the Visual Thesaurus

You can post abstracts of articles from the Visual Thesaurus magazine, (these are the summaries that are currently available on the home page at https://www.visualthesaurus.com and are available to all users of the site and not only subscribers), so long as you do not remove the "Read More" and the associated link to the rest of the article on the Site.

 

You can print abstracts for personal use. Please fill out this form to request permission.

Sharing Images with Zazzle

You can use images from the Visual Thesaurus as part of T-shirts, Mugs, Posters, etc. through using the Share function of the Visual Thesaurus online application. Such created material shall be for personal use and not for resale.

 

 

Other

Other than the cases above, if you want to post, publish, or use content from (or contained within) the Site on your web site or in any other Internet activity, you will need permission from Thinkmap, even though your Web site or Internet activity is free of charge. Requests should be directed to this form.

Other than the cases above, if you want to post, publish, or use content from (or contained within) the Site on your web site or in any other Internet activity, you will need permission from Thinkmap, even though your Web site or Internet activity is free of charge. Requests should be directed to this form.

 

1.3.  Do not systematically retrieve content to create another product: You may not engage in systematic retrieval of content from the Site to create or compile, directly or indirectly, a collection, compilation, database, or directory without written permission from Thinkmap. Nor may you mirror on your own site the home page or results pages of the Site.

2.    Your Communications: You are responsible for your own communications and are responsible for the consequences of sending them through Thinkmap’s system.

2.1.  Don’t send material that doesn’t belong to you. Do not send material that is copyrighted, unless you are the copyright owner or have the permission of the copyright owner to post it; do not send material that reveals trade secrets, unless you own them or have the permission of the owner; do not send material that infringes on any other intellectual property rights of others or on the privacy or publicity rights of others;

2.2.  Don’t send material that is harmful or offensive to others. Do not send material that is obscene, defamatory, threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful or embarrassing to any other person or entity; do not send sexually-explicit images;

2.3.  Don’t use our site to promote or solicit business. Do not send advertisements or solicitations of business; do not send chain letters or the like;

2.4.  Don’t impersonate another person.

2.5.  We can use the material you send. By sending information or materials through Thinkmap’s system, you warrant and represent that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content and use of your information or materials by Thinkmap will not infringe or violate the rights of any third party. You automatically grant to Thinkmap, a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, edit, translate, distribute, perform, and display your communications alone or as part of other works in any form, media, or technology whether now known or hereafter developed, and to sublicense such rights through multiple tiers of sublicenses. Where Thinkmap so uses your communication, you assign to Thinkmap all copyright rights and other rights in and to such material as a work for hire.

2.6.  We can remove communications for any reason: Thinkmap reserves the right to remove or edit messages or material submitted by users and to remove communications that are abusive, illegal or disruptive.

2.7.  We will do our best to get back to you if you request us to. Thinkmap will make a good faith effort to respond to communications submitted through its system, but Thinkmap has no liability or responsibility to users therefore.

3.    Linking: You are allowed to link to the Site and may link directly to word results within the Visual Thesaurus through using the following link format: "https://www.visualthesaurus.com/?word=x" where x is the word to be looked up.

3.1.  Don’t Frame our content. You may not, however, frame Site content, surround it with your own advertising or identity, or charge a fee for any link to the Site.

4.    Additional Terms Applicable to Subscriptions

4.1.  Accounts: If any of the products or services available from the Site require you to open an account, you must complete the registration process by providing Thinkmap with true, current, complete and accurate information as prompted by the applicable registration form, and you will maintain and promptly update such information to keep it true, current, complete and accurate.

4.1.1.            You are responsible for choosing and keeping your password secret.  You are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and account. Furthermore, you are entirely responsible for any and all activities that occur under your account.

4.1.2.            Tell us if someone gets access to your account. You agree to notify Thinkmap immediately of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security.

4.1.3.            We’re not liable if someone else gets access to your account. Neither Thinkmap, nor any Thinkmap affiliates or Thinkmap licensors will be liable for any loss that you may incur as a result of someone else using your password or account, either with or without your knowledge. However, you could be held liable for losses incurred by Thinkmap or any other person or entity due to someone else using your account or password.

4.1.4.            You may not use anyone else's individual account at any time.

4.1.5.            Tell us the truth about yourself. If you provide any information that is false, inaccurate, out of date, or incomplete, or Thinkmap has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is false, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, Thinkmap may suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the products or services or any portion thereof.

4.1.6.            We can expel users who violate the Terms of Use or the Law. Thinkmap reserves the right to expel users and prevent their further access to its system for violating the law or these Terms of Use.

4.2.  Subscription Fees and Charges for those purchasing from the Web site using a Credit Card. Subscription charges commence upon the date your subscription is activated and will be billed to your credit card each month (for monthly subscriptions) or year (for annual subscriptions) thereafter. You acknowledge and agree that you will not receive a bill in the mail for your subscription. Thinkmap reserves the right to increase subscription rates at any time, but will notify you if there is a change in your renewal rate before the renewal is charged to your credit card. Customers subscribing at specially discounted promotional rates may be subject to varying rate increases, none of which shall exceed the standard posted subscription rate.

4.2.1.            You can cancel the automatic renewal of your subscription at any time. You can cancel the automatic renewal of your subscription at any time by logging in to the "my account" section of the Site, and cancelling the subscription. When you cancel, you will have access to the subscription until the end of the term. Cancelling the automatic renewal does not entitle you to a refund of any kind.

4.2.2.            For a cancellation to be effective, you must cancel using the "my account" section of the site. You are solely responsible for properly cancelling your account. An email, fax, or phone request to cancel your account is not considered cancellation. You can cancel your account at any time by clicking on the My Account link in the global navigation bar at the top of the screen. The My Account screen provides a simple no questions asked cancellation link.

4.2.3.            Refunds are only available in selected cases. If you cancel your subscription within the trial period specified on the site by logging in to the "my account" section and choosing the appropriate action, and your subscription is eligible for refunds as detailed on the site, we will refund you the costs of the subscription. Other than during the trial period for eligible subscriptions, the subscription is billed in advance and is non-refundable. There will be no refunds or credits for a partial month or year, or refunds for time unused on an open account.

4.2.4.            No Refunds are Provided for purchases of the Desktop Version. In no case do we provide refunds to the Desktop Edition.

4.2.5.            All taxes are your responsibility. All fees are exclusive of all taxes, levies, or duties imposed by taxing authorities, and you shall be responsible for payment of all such taxes, levies, or duties.

4.2.6.            Administrators of Group Subscriptions are Responsible for Charges and Automatic Renewals. If you are the administrator of a Group Subscription, you are responsible for any renewal costs as indicated within the "my account" section of the site. We do not provide refunds for Additional Users purchased, but not used by the Additional User.

4.3.  Additional Terms for Subscribing Institutions and Administrators Thereof

4.3.1.            You will only provide access to members of your Institution for whom you have purchased a subscription. If you have purchased a Site License subscription, your quote or invoice will indicate the number of Licensed Users for whom you have purchased access. All Licensed Users must be members of the Subscribing Institution. And it is the Subscribing Institutions responsibility to make sure that the number of people with access to the Site through a valid Authentication method as described on https://www.visualthesaurus.com/authentication is not greater than the number of Licensed Users. If you determine that the number of people who have access to our Site through your authentication method is greater than the number of Licensed Users for whom you have purchased access, you will either 1) Contact Thinkmap and purchase access for additional users, or 2) disable access to the people who should not have access.

4.3.2.            If Thinkmap finds that you have provided access to more people than you have paid for, we can turn off your service. If you either provide unrestricted access by allowing access through an unrestricted site, or you post or share your login credentials with people outside your institution, Thinkmap can turn off your access to the subscription areas of the site. If we do so, we will contact you within a reasonable time to alert you of the situation. Turning off access is not Thinkmap’s sole remedy. You institution could be held liable for losses incurred by Thinkmap or any other person or entity due to unauthorized use.

4.3.3.            If your subscription lapses, Thinkmap can turn off access to the Subscription areas of the site. Unless Thinkmap receives payment or a valid purchase order before the end of your subscription term, Thinkmap will turn off access to your account, which will make it so your licensed users cannot access the Subscription Areas of the Site.

5.    Ownership: The content of the Site, including the Visual Thesaurus software and Web Application, and the underlying Thinkmap software (collectively the "Software"), is the property of Thinkmap, its affiliated companies or licensors and is protected by international copyright, patent, and trademark laws. YOU SHALL NOT REPRODUCE, REVERSE ENGINEER, DECOMPILE, DISASSEMBLE, OR CREATE DERIVATIVE WORKS WITH RESPECT TO THE SOFTWARE.

6.    Disclaimer of Warranties: THE SITE AND ALL INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, AND OTHER CONTENT INCLUDED IN OR ACCESSIBLE FROM THE SITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND (EXPRESS, IMPLIED, AND STATUTORY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE), ALL OF WHICH THINKMAP EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

7.    Limitation of Liability: IN NO EVENT SHALL THINKMAP, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, SHAREHOLDERS, PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS AND LICENSORS, OR CONTENT PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE USE, INABILITY TO USE, PERFORMANCE OR NONPERFORMANCE OF THE SITE, EVEN IF THINKMAP WAS PREVIOUSLY ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES AND REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH DAMAGES ARISE IN CONTRACT, TORT, UNDER STATUTE, IN EQUITY, AT LAW, OR OTHERWISE.

8.    Indemnification: To the fullest extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold Thinkmap, its directors, officers, shareholders, parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, and licensors harmless from and against all losses, expenses, damages, and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of the use or unauthorized copying of the Site or any of their content, the violation of these Terms of Use or any applicable laws or regulations.

9.    Privacy Policy

9.1.  We collect information when you register. When you register for the Site we ask for information such as your name, company name, email address, billing address, credit card information. Institutions which provide access to their subscribers as well as gift recipients are not required to enter a credit card.

9.2.  We track usage: We aggregate information on what pages consumers access or visit, and information volunteered by the consumer (such as survey information and/or site registrations).

9.3.  Cookies are required to use the Site:  A cookie is a small amount of data, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier, that is sent to your browser from a web site's computers and stored on your computer's hard drive. We use cookies to record current session information, and to track the effectiveness of site changes, marketing, and advertisements.

9.4.  We use the information we collect:  Thinkmap uses collected information for the following general purposes: products and services provision, billing, identification and authentication, services improvement, contact, and research.

9.5.  We may disclose personal information in special circumstances: Thinkmap may disclose personally identifiable information to provide products or services you've requested, when we have your permission, or under the following circumstances:

It is necessary to share information in order to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations of this Terms of Service, or as otherwise required by law.

We transfer information about you if Thinkmap is acquired by or merged with another company. In this event, Thinkmap will notify you before information about you is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

10.  COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Copyright ©2024 Thinkmap, Inc., 777 Mariners Island Boulevard, Suite 600, San Mateo, CA 94404. All rights reserved.

11.  TRADEMARKS. Plumb Design, Thinkmap, Informotion, and Visual Thesaurus are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Thinkmap, Inc. or its affiliates or licensors.  The names of other companies and products mentioned on or via the Site may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Reference to such third party trademarks is for informational purposes only and is not intended to indicate or imply any affiliation, association, sponsorship, or endorsement. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved.

12.  MISCELLANEOUS. These Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement between you and Thinkmap regarding your use of the Site, superseding any prior agreements between you and Thinkmap on the subject matter (including, but not limited to, any prior versions of the Terms of Use). In the event that any provision of these Terms of Use conflicts with the law under which these Terms of Use are to be construed or if any such provision is held invalid or unenforceable by a court with jurisdiction over the parties, such provision shall be deemed to be restated to reflect as nearly as possible the economic effect of the original provision in accordance with applicable law.  The remaining provisions of these Terms of Use and the application of the challenged provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is invalid or unenforceable shall not be affected thereby, and each such provision shall be valid and enforceable to the full extent permitted by law.  These Terms of Use are governed by the laws of the United States and the State of New York, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of laws. Unless waived in its sole discretion by Thinkmap, the sole jurisdiction and venue for actions related to the subject matter hereof will be the New York state and federal courts having within their jurisdiction the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York and both parties consent to the jurisdiction of such courts.  The official language for this Agreement, and of any proceedings and writings amending or interpreting this Agreement, will be English. The parties specifically disclaim the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.